By admin 
TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – An Arizona lawmaker is demanding the release of a Tucson woman who is a DACA recipient that was taken into custody by ICE.
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On Friday, June 12, Rep. Adelita S. Grijalva said she is calling on federal authorities “to release DACA recipient Jessica Marlene Corrales-Duarte from immigration detention, reunite her with her family, and halt deportation proceedings.”
She claimed Corrales-Duarte is facing a misdemeanor charge for a “minor offense in municipal court but has been unable to appear in court to defend herself due to her detention.”
13 News obtained Corrales-Duarte’s interim complaint and she is facing three counts of shoplifting and theft under $25,000.
According to court documents, Corrales-Duarte went into an Ulta Beauty in Tucson at least three times in August 2025, and stole nearly $5,500 worth of products. Theft of that level is usually a felony in the state of Arizona, not a misdemeanor.
According to investigators, Corrales-Duarte was caught on video removing security stickers from merchandise and putting the product into her purse before walking out without paying.
While the incident happened in August, Corrales-Duarte was indicted by a Pima County grand jury in September.
“ICE is going after yet another DACA recipient in our community,” Grijalva said in a release. “Her name is Jessica Corrales-Duarte and she is a constituent of mine. Jessica is a married 29-year-old mother of two young girls. She was born in Mexico and brought to the United States when she was just two years old.”
Grijalva said that Corrales-Duarte’s attorney reported she has no prior criminal record, but 13 News has been unable to verify that claim.
“Like anyone else in this country, she is entitled to due process and to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty,” Grijalva said. “However, there is a real possibility that she will be deported without ever getting her day in court. That is both cruel and fundamentally unjust. This is a direct consequence of the Laken Riley Act, where a mere accusation — not a conviction — of a minor offense is enough to trigger deportation.”
The Laken Riley Act, signed into law in January 2025, requires federal agents to detain people in the country illegally who have been arrested for certain crimes, including burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting. The Act does not distinguish between arrests and convictions, as Grijalva said.
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In a statement to 13 News, ICE disputed several other parts of Grijalva’s accusations.
First, ICE said Corrales-Duarte was arrested on Jan. 15, 2026, days after her DACA status was terminated.
ICE said it sent Corrales-Duarte official notice of intent to terminate her status on Nov. 7, 2025, and had no legal right to be in the United States. ICE also called the charge against her as a felony.
“Corrales-Duarte does not possess any immigration documents that allow her to enter, reside or remain in the United States legally,” ICE said. “The Tucson Police Department arrested Corrales-Duarte on felony charges for shoplifting and theft. Claims by her attorney that ICE is not releasing her for her court appearance are false; ICE will release Corrales-Duarte under writ to Pima County so she can appear for her trial.”
13 News has confirmed Corrales-Duarte has been in ICE custody in Eloy since her arrest in January.
In May 2026, Grijalva called for the release of Karla Toledo after she was arrested at her Tucson home.
Homeland Security claimed that Toledo assaulted a federal agent who was trying to detain another person and that Toledo was in the country illegally. Arizona lawmakers and local activists claimed Toledo was innocent, that her DACA status was up to date, and that she had no criminal history.
In early June, the charges against Toledo were dismissed, and she was released.
Immigration attorney Mo Goldman told 13 News that the dismissal means Toledo is protected from deportation under DACA, but that her fight is far from over. The motion to dismiss was filed without prejudice, which means the government could refile it later. Also, Toledo’s DACA status is set to expire in July.
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